Restaurant apparatus



Jan. 5, 1937. T. WARNER RESTAURANT APPARATUS Filed March 18, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 m 6 l m/ \l 3 m M m H M 7 is U EJ 0 Au/all w 3 1 g m 8 9 9} 4 Q Q o o o 00 0 0 o 2 J U M I Ill.- 3

INVENTOR 4 Ill l lllll III BY- ATTORNEY T. WARNER 2,066,865

RE STAURANT APPARATU S Jah. 5, 1937.

Filed March 18, 1931 s Shets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR W /M BY 4 ATTORNEY! 5.24M Kw;

Jan. 5, 1937. T. WARNER 2,066,365

RESTAURANT APPARATUS Filed March 18, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR V% W BY ATTORNEY:

cabinet, surfaces so that a customer may see what is in 40 Figure 5 1s a m i of t apparatus in the a box considerably removed from his location 40 cabinet of Figure 4, and v at that particular moment.

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the Each of the Separate boxes or Cabinets comrefrigeration piping. posing the set 23 and the set 24 has likewise a.

55 of any desirable type, but in order to prevent Desirably contiguous to the set of cabinets 24 55 -Patented Jan. 5, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RESTAURANT APPARATUS Truly Warner, New York, N. Y. Application March 18, 1931. Serial No. 523,453

9 Claims. (01. 312-483) The invention relates to restaurant apparatus. draughts, which might under some circumstances One object of the invention is to provide food interfere with the maintenance of the desired to customers at the proper temperature. either temperature in the food boxes hereinafter to be hot or cold or both. Another object of the indescribed, I prefer to seal the restaurant from the vention is to provide an arrangement of the food outside air by the use, for example, of revolving that is attractive. Another object of the invendoors I! and 03 located at the front and rear tion is to keep the food free from dust and to of the restaurant respectively. As shown in Figavoid undue handling thereof. Another object ure 1, the revolving door l2 opens into a foyer I of the invention is to provide an attractive and aving swinging (1 l5 leading to t e S ree 0 efficient arrangement for a restaurant. Another while the rear door I3 is located in the rear wall 10 object of the invention is to insure economy in i of the restaurant. the running of the restaurant. Another object Assum ng now that a customer enters the resof the invention is to'permit the customer to serve rant th ou the door h finds before him a himself with the minimum of efiort, Another table I1, which may be divided into suitable comobject of the invention is to keep the restaurant Pertmellts as indicated, and in which he Will find 15 itself at an even temperature. Other objects will napkins, ry, poons, forks and t a dv nbe in part obvious or in part pointed out hereintageously ed- The customer is thus gu ded fter, in the proper direction. and may, if desired, be

The invention accordingly consists in the feaactually restrained from e n the exit P sso tures of construction, combinations of elements, s by a s a turnstile while a ailing an arrangements of parts u b exemplified 20 definitely separates the space around the table in the structure to be hereinafter described, and H from the re a nde of the restaurant. the scope of the application of which will be in- Preferably the Customer finds y O venue dicated m t following claims, of progress into the restaurant which constitutes In the accompanying drawings, in which is a passagewa 2! bounded on One Side y e rail- 2 shown one of various possible embodiments of the 8 and railing and O the other Side by feature of thi n t a row of banks of boxes or cabinets containing Figure 1 is a plan iew of a restaurant arranged fOOd, which I'OW of banks is divided into {3W0 parts and constructed in accordance with my invention, that are respectively di t by th numerals 23 Figure 2 is a view, partly in frontelevation and and e Dreferredconstruction of each. of 30 partly in vertical section. of ovens or heating the several boxes or cabinets, their arrangement b t and the relation of the set 23 to the set 24 will be Figure 3 is t l sectional view of an indidescribed in detail hereinafter. It is noted at vidual oven, showing the interior apparatus in this Point, however, that h o or cabinet elevation, t m of the section being Pemenpreferably has a transparent front and a trans- 35 dicular to the plane of thesection in Figure 2, Parent front (1001', 50 that the customer y See Figure 4 is Sections view similar t Figure 3 the food contained. therein, and desirably also the showing an individual refrigerator or cooling side Walls Of each box Cabinet have mirror similar reference characters ref r t simnar rear door openable by an attendant or attendants parts throughout the several views of the drawwhohave access thereto along a Passage The 45 ings passages and 25 are thus parallel and sepa- Referring first to Figure 1, the restaurant may rated by the food nt n ng cabinets. Cusbe located in any suitable building, the side walls 'fi may be discouraged from ing the of which are indicated by the numerals l0, ill. Passage 25 y Providing a ed door 26 at the Desirably the front of the restaurant faces on a front end thereof- It Should be understood that thoroughfare, and a display section H may 00- where in the claims I refer to par l passage cupy the front of the restaurant. the case of concentric passages or passages fol- So far as certain features of the invention are lowing even irregular but Similar cour es are inconcerned, the entrance to the restaurant may be cluded.-

' attendant from a larger mass, such as roast beef.

On one side of the steam table 21 is a passageway 23 bounded by said table and a railing 30 constituting a continuation at right angles of the railing 22. On the other side of the steam table 21 is a space 3| in which stand attendants ready to serve customers. The space 3| is separated from the kitchen 32 by a wall 33, while a door 34 provides access from the kitchen 32 to the passage 25 and the space 3!. If desired, additional doors may be provided through the wall 33 to eliminate congestion of the attendants moving to and fro; I will not particularly describe the kitchen, as it may have any desired arrangement and may in fact be located on a difierent floor or actually in another building, it being representative of a source of supply for the food to be consumed in the restaurant.

The set of boxes or cabinets 23 preferably distinguish from the set of boxes 24. Desirably the boxes of the set 23 are refrigerators, while the boxes of the set 24 are ovens or heated compartments. In order that theheat from the end boxes 24 shall not warm the end refrigerated boxes 23, and that the latter shall not cool the former, a vertical wall of insulation 35 is provided separating the set of boxes 23 from the set of boxes 24.

The location of the refrigerator boxes of the set 23 nearer the entrance I2 than the ovens of the set 24 presents several advantages. At all times of the year there are certain customers who desire only a sandwich, a piece of pie, or some article of food which they want cold. Such a customer may obtain a refrigerated article of food from one of the boxes of the set 23 and thereupon leave the passage 2| through the exit 36 between the railings 20 and 22, and as the customer does so a checker, located at a desk 31, gives the customer a slip with the total charge on it. Such a customer, therefore, does not have to walk the entire length of the passage 2! and avoids altogether the passage 29, thus measurably decreasing the congestion in the restaurant. On the other hand, customers who wish hot dishes pass beyond the exit 36 and find them in one of the ovens 24 or at the steam table 21, or both. Such customers have their selections checked by a checker located at a table 38, and thereupon they emerge into the central portion of the restaurant 40 where are located tables and chairs, not shown.

Another advantage of locating the ovens 24 at the far end of the passage 2| is that they are ad- Jacent the steam table 21, thus reducing heat losses. The refrigerators 23 are thus located remots from the steam table 21.

When a customer has finished the meal he finds the only exit from the restaurant is by way of the cashiers table 4| into an exit passage it which is separated from the main portion of the restaurant by a railing 42 and at the end of which is the tumstile i9 already referred to.

Figure 3 illustrates an individual cabinet or box designated by the number 24a, being a heated cabinet or an oven. Figure 4 illustrates a cabinet or box 23a which is refrigerated. These views serve to point out specific differences in the appaatusand arrangement of the two types of cabinets, and in this illustrated embodiment of the invention, where such differences are not pointed out, the two types of cabinets shall be considered to be of the same construction, differing only in the fact that the one type is cooled while the other type is heated. Consequently Figure 5, which specifically shows a plan view of the turntable hereinafter described in a cabinet 23a is to that extent also illustrative of a turntable in a cabinet 24a. Likewise, Figure 2, which illustrates the arrangement of the steam coils, is also illustrative of the arrangement of the refrigerating coils except insofar as certain difierences are concerned, which will be duly pointed out.

Referring now to Figure 2, the several cabinets 24a of the set 24 are desirably of rectangular parallelopidal shape and uniform size, and arranged in a row of banks. Referring now to the left.-

hand side of Figure 2, which illustrates the front of a bank of cabinets 24a, the front thereof is bounded by glass panels 44, 44 set in outside frames 45 and inside frames 46. The panels 44 are desirably made of any desirable heat resistant glass so as to stand the heat produced in the unit 24. A series of doors 41, made also of any desirable heat resistant glass mounted in a suitable frame, are provided, there being one door 41 for each box or cabinet 24a, and the doors swinging outwardly and upwardly to open.

The lowermost row of cabinets 24a are located on a platform 48 which is spaced from the floor by a suitable distance so that the customer will not have to stoop down below a certain level in order to reach an article of food. Desirably, as indicated in Figure l, a shelf 49 extends a slight distance beyond the plane of the fronts of the several cabinets 24a. Beneath the platform 48 and supporting it are front, back and end walls, indicated as a whole by the reference character 50, thus enclosing a comparatively large rectangular parallelopidal space. In certain cases this space may be utilized, on the one hand to enclose heating apparatus, or in the case of the refrigerating unit to enclose refrigeration apparatus. In this illustrative embodiment of the invention, however, the heating apparatus includes steam pipes emanating from a boiler in the cellar, not shown; while the refrigeration apparatus includes brine pipes emanating from refrigeration apparatus which may be located anywhere desired.

Still referring to Figure 2, the unit 24 has a top 5| which desirably includes heat insulating material. Below the horizontal top Si is a space 52 which, when the unit 24 is in operation, is filled with heated air. Below the space 52 are the top walls 53 of the several banks of cabinets which, as well as the horizontal divisions 54 between successive cabinets, are desirably formed of sheet metal, which may be steel plated with chromium in order to reflect light.

The cabinets 24a have side walls 55 which are also desirably made of sheet metal and plated with a reflecting substance, such as chromium, and polished to a high degree. Considering now a row of cabinets 24a, the right-hand side wall of one cabinet preferably is spaced from the lefthand side wall of the next adjacent cabinet, so as to leave a space 56 extending vertically between successive banks of cabinets in which space are located the steam pipes 51 constituting the heating means for the ovens 24a. Certain advantages follow from the use of sheet metal to form the side walls 55 of the cabinets, among which may be mentioned the rapid heat conductivity thereof, and the absence of double reflection incident to the use of glass mirrors.

The piping 51 is preferably arranged in the space 56 in the form of a continuous ascending zigzag, there being an air relief valve at the top otherwise dead end of the piping, and the bottom of the piping being connected to a steam boiler. Such a system provides for a return of condensed water along the same piping and will not form any water seals. The heat is conveyed to the walls 55 by radiation, convection and conduction, and heated air fills the space 52. Thus each cabinet 24a;- except the bottom row, is bounded by a heated medium at the top, at the bottom, and at both sides.

It is desirable to reduce the amount of heat escaping into the restaurant from a cabinet 24a when a customer opens it as much as possible. This is so especially in the summertime, when the restaurant should be kept as cool as possible. Consequently, I preferably provide holes 58 through each of the horizontal partitions 54 and holes 58 through the lowermost partitions 54a and the platform 48, the latter being connected by ducts 60 to piping 8| which leads to a blower 62 located outside of the restaurant. Thus, whenever a front door 41 of a cabinet is opened there will be a slight in-draft.

Referring now to Figure '3, the front door 41 of each cabinet 24a is mounted on a hinge 65 and is provided with a handle 66 near the bottom so that a customer may open the door swinging it upwardly and outwardly. Desirably, any form of spring pressed latch 61 is provided to resiliently hold the door 41 closed. When the door 41 is released, gravity will close it, and a certain spring which will be hereinafter described also assists gravity in this respect.

To the vertical sides of each door 41 and to the adjacent sides of the front walls of thecabinets 24a. are fastened movable and stationary elements respectively of segmental shields 68 of the fan type. These shields 68 serve to prevent the escape of heated air upwardly and also act as a limiting stop to prevent excessive movement of the doors 41.

In each cabinet 24a is a turntable 18. This turntable preferably is on an axis located in a vertical plane parallel to the side walls 55, which axis, however, is inclined forwardly a few degrees in said plane. The actual supporting mechanism may comprise a base ll attached to the bottom 54 of the cabinet and a stud 72 extending -into said base. Desirably also ball bearings, not

shown, are used'to minimize friction.

It may be seen that as the axis of the turntable is inclined with respect to a plane parallel to the front of cabinet 24 (Figure 3) it is subject to actuation by gravitational forces upon being released by an escapement mechanism to be hereinafter described. That is, when an article such as one of plates ill! is removed from its delivery positionand the escapement mechanism is released, one side of platform is heavier by reason of supporting more plates than the other (see Figure 5) and accordingly the platform revolves in the direction of the arrow in Figure 5.

The turntable!!! is preferably freely revoluble except for the provision of an escapement mechanism associated with the front door 41, which escapement mechanism will now be described. As shown in Figure 3, a series of pins 13 are attached on the underside of. the turntable 18, being located concentrically with respect to the axis of the turntable and at equal angular intervals.

A rod 14 is slidably mounted in the rear of the cabinet 24a and in a bracket under the tumtable 10. Near the front'end of the rod 14 are the plate 11 being attached to the far side of the rod I4 as viewed in Figure 3, and the plate 18 being attached to the near side of the rod 14 as so viewed. The width of the rod 14 is equal to or slightly greater than that of the pin 13. In the normal position of the rod 14 the plate 11 lies in the path of revolution of the pins 13, and thus prevents revolution of. the turntable I0. When the rod 14 is moved rearwardly, the plate 11 is removed from said path of revolution, and the plate 18 islocated in it. These parts constitute an escapement mechanism, allowing the turntable to move the angular distance between successive pins 13 whenever the rod 14 is moved rearwardly and then allowed to come forward again.

Extending rearwardly from the door 41 and in a generally horizontal direction when the door is closed, and located adjacent the hinge 85, is an arm 80. This arm 80 is connected by a link 8i to a bell crank lever 82 which is pivoted at 83 in the cabinet 24a and whose downwardly extending portion rests against a downward extension 84 of the rod 14. Opening of the door 41 results in downward movement of the link 8|, which rocks the bell crank lever 82 in a clockwise direction, thus pushing the downward extension 84 of the rod 14 together with the rod rearwardly in the cabinet 24a. This motion is opposed by a spring 86 attached at one end to the support 15 and at the other end to a pin 81 fastened to the rod M. A stop 88 is provided to prevent excessive movement of the rod 14.

When a customer swings open the door 41, the escapement mechanism described moves one step and allows the turntable Ill to move a very limited distance. The turntable I0 will so move owing to the location thereon of plates having articles of food on one side only as hereinafter more fully described. The customer having withdrawn the plate having the desired article of food, releases the door 41 which thereupon swings closed, and the escapement mechanism moves the second step, thus releasing the turntable 10 for a longer angular movement, bringing the next article in position in front of the door 41. In order that an attendant may have control of the escapement device at all times, the rod 14 projects rearwardly from the cabinet 24a and is provided with a handle 14a whereby the attendant may move it.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 5, so far as the general arrangement thereof is concerned,tthe several cabinets 23a are the same as the cabinets 24a. Likewise their top, bottom and side walls I are desirably of the same construction and ar- 56, however, refrigeration apparatus is located therein, which may desirably constitute brine carrying pipes 90. Referring now to Figure 6, the

arrangement of the brine pipes is diagrammatically shown. The brine is pumped from any suitable source along a pipe 9|, whence it is delivered to a supply main 92 to which are connected the lower ends of 'the several cooling pipes 98 that zigzag upwardly in the spaces 56, as in the case of the steam pipes. The upper ends of all the sets of piping 90 are connected to a connecting main ,0], which main 03 is connected to piping 04 filling the space 52 above the top row of boxes 23a. The other end of. the piping 84 is connected to a discharge pipe 95 which goes directly downward in any one of the spaces 56 to the entrance port of the circulating pump for the brine system. In describing one particular manner of refrigerating the cabinets 23a, it should be understood that other arrangements of apparatus may be substituted, The particular method of and apparatus for cooling the brine may be of any desired character.

Referring again to Figures 4 and 5, each cabinet 23a is provided with a front door 95 comprising a pair of pieces of. plate glass 96a arid 96b mounted in a suitable frame. The advantage of having a double glass in the door with a space between is that condensation of vapor, which might interfere with vision, is thereby greatly minimized. The door 96 opens downwardly instead of upwardly, in order to retain as much cold air in the cabinet 23a as possible. Each door 96 is hinged at 91, and a latch 98 is preferably provided to resiliently hold it closed. It is likewise connected to its frame on each side by segmental shields 99 of the fan type, which operate as a limiting stop to prevent it being lowered below a certain position and to assist in the prevention of the escape of cold air. In Figure 4 I have shown in dotted lines an illustrative embodiment of the lowermost position of the door 95, which shows it raised above the horizontal. Insomuch as the segmental shields of the fan type 99 guard the sides, cold air in the cabinet 23a is prevented from escaping below the level a. Cold air in a refrigeration cabinet seeks to find a low level and may be considered as analogous to a liquid.

Connected at one side of the bottom of each door 96 and extending downwardly therefrom inside of each cabinet 23a is an arm I00. This arm I lies parallel to the depending portion 84 of the rod I4, which rod has on it the escapement mechanism already described in the case of the cabinets 24a. The cabinet 23a also has in it a turntable I0 having pins I3. As downward movement of the door 96 moves the rod I4 rearwardly against the tension of the spring 86, opening and closing of the door 96 permits the turntable 10 to move an angular distance measured by the distance between the pins 13, the arrangement of the turntable and the escapement mechanism being the same as already described in the case of the cabinets 24a. Likewise, the attendant may operate this escapement mechanism as by means of a handle 14a. Referring to Figure 5, insomuch as the door 96 opens downwardly and not upwardly, an arm ml is connected to the lower portion of the door 96 at one side thereof, the arm IOI lying in a horizontal plane when the door is closed, but extending to one side so as to avoid the turntable I0. A spring I 02 has one end thereof connected to the arm IM and the other end to the partition 54, and this spring compensates for the weight of the door 95, it being noted that the spring 86 tends to close the door.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 3 respectively, each cabinet 23a is provided with a rear door I04, and each cabinet 24a is provided with a rear door I05. Although of slightly different shape, the door I04 is arranged to swing downwardly like the door 96, and the door I05 is arranged to swing upwardly like the door 41. Each of these sets of accesses doors are provided with segmental shields of the fan typ which are numbered I06 in the case of the doors I04 and I0! in the case of the doors I05. By means of the doors I04 and I 05 attendants gain access to the cabinets 23a and 24a respectively. The disposition and location in a horizontal plane of the doors I04 are illustrated in Figure 5,

which equally well illustrates the same characteristics of the doors I05, and it is here noted that desirably bothof these sets of doors have glass panels and that the rear wall of the cabinets 23a as well as of the cabinets 24a apart from these doors constitutes plate glass I08. Thus the customer may see into each cabinet as well as through it, and on account of the mirror-like sides 55, may see into any cabinet from a considerable distance either side thereof.

Referring again to Figure 1, the attendants keep the cabinets 23a and 24a supplied with food from the passage 25. To gain access to any cabinet, the attendant opens the door I04 or I05 as the case may be, and it is noted that each of these doors is so swung as to entrap the heated or the refrigerated air in the respective cabinets. Referring now to Figure 5 as illustrative not only of the refrigerated cabinets 23a but also of the heated cabinets 24a, the attendant places plates IIO containing articles of food on the turntable 10, there being desirably slight depressions II I in the turntable located at equal angular intervals and concentrically. The attendant loads the food only at one side of the turntable, either operating the escapement mechanism to move forward successive plates, or reaching in with his hands to place them in the proper positions. The plates being located along one side of the turntable tend to rotate it in a given direction, and as the customers withdraw the plates with food when they are at the lowermost position (see Figures 4 and 5), this tendency will continue so long as one or more articles of food are located on the turntable. By this construction and arrangement there is more than one article of food ready for the cus tomer, and the article withdrawn by the customer is always that which has been the longest time in the cabinet, and therefore heated or cooled to the maximum extent.

The word cabinet or compartment as used herein signify a complete enclosure or a means enclosing a space completely from the outside thereof.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided by this invention a construction, arrangement and apparatus in which the various objects hereinbefore set forth, together with many thoroughly practical advantages, are successfully achieved.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth, or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and. not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a box, means for obtaining access to said box at each end thereof, a turntable axially mounted within said box, the plane of said turntable slanting downwardly toward the front end of said box, said turntable adapted to support articles and convey said articles toward the front end of said box upon rotation, and means for limiting the rotation of said turntable to progressive steps, said last-mentioned means being responsive to the opening and closing of the access means at the front end of said box.

2. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a box, means for obtaining access to said box at either end thereof, and a turntable axially mounted within said box and adapted to support articles thereon, the plane of said turn.- table slanting toward one end of said box to facilitate the rotation of said turntable and the movement of said articles toward said end of said box.

3. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a box, a turntable axially mounted within said box, the plane of said turntable slanting toward the front end of said box, means projecting from said turntable toward the base of said box, means located under said turntable in the path of said last-mentioned means, a door to the front of said box, and means operatively connecting said door to said last-mentioned means whereby said last-mentioned means is momentarily moved out of the path of said projecting means upon the opening and closing of said door.

4. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a box, a turntable axially mounted within said box, the plane of said turntable slanting toward the front end of said box, studs projecting from said turntable toward the base of said box, an element adapted to move in directions substantially toward and away from the axis of said turntable, a member secured to said element and positioned in the path of said studs when said element is in its forward position, a part secured to said element and positioned in the path of said studs when said element is in its rearward position, said member and said part being sufliciently spaced to permit the escape of one stud during the movement of said element from its rearward position to its forward position, and means for controlling the position of said element.

5. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a box,.a turntable axially mounted within said box, the plane of said turntable slanting toward the front end of said box, studs projecting from said turntable toward the base of said box, an element adapted to move in directions substantially toward and away from the axis of said turntable, a member secured to said element and positioned in the path of said studs when said element is in its forward position,a part secured to said element and positioned in the path ofsaid studs when said element is in its rearward position, said member and said part being suffl'ciently spaced to permit the escape of one stud during the movement of said element from its rearward position to its forward position, a door at the front end of said box, and means operatively connecting said door to said element whereby said element is moved to its rearward position when said door is opened and is returned to its forward position when said door is closed.

6. In apparatus of the character described, in combination, a box, a turntable axially mounted within said box, the plane of said turntable slanting toward the front end of said box, studs projecting from said turntable toward the base of said box, an element adapted to move in directions substantially toward and away from the front of said box, a member secured to said element and positioned in the path of said studs when said element is in its forward position, a part secured to said element and positioned in the path of said studs when said element is in its rearward position, said member and said part being sufficiently spaced to permit the escape of one stud during the movement of said element from its rearward position to its forward position, a door at the front end of said box, and means operatively associating said door with said element whereby said element is moved to its rearward position when said door is opened, said element extending through the rear of said box, said means adapted to prevent the effective movement of said element from the rear of said box when said door is in an open position.

'7. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a box, a turntable in said box for supporting articles, said turntable being revoluble in response to gravitational forces upon the removal therefrom of one of said articles, escapement means to permit and impede the rotation of said turntable, and a door at one'end of said box operatively connected with said escapement means whereby operation of said door actuates said escapement means.

8. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a box, a front door to said box, a rear door to said box, a rotatable platform in said box, the plane of said platform being inclined from the horizontal, and means actuable from the rear of said box to permit step by step loading of said platform through said rear door, said means being operatively connected to said front door whereby the opening and closing of said front door permits said platform to rotate.

9. In apparatus of the class described, in combination, a box, a front door to said box, a rear door to said box, a rotatable platform in said box for supporting articles, said platform being' revoluble in response to gravitational forces upon the removal therefrom of one of said articles, and means actuable from the rear of said box to permit step by step loading of said platform throughsaid rear door, said means being operatively connected to said front door whereby the opening and closing of said front door permits said platform to rotate. 

